


one day (one day)

by Pawprinter



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Adult Losers Club (IT), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Christmas Fluff, Family Fluff, Fluff, Found Family, Kid Fic, Light Angst, Losers Club (IT) Friendship, M/M, Post-IT Chapter Two (2019), Post-Pennywise (IT), Reddie is ready for children, eddie is alive, stan is alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 20:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21931765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pawprinter/pseuds/Pawprinter
Summary: While watching their niece during the Christmas holidays, Richie and Eddie contemplate their future.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, The Losers Club & Richie Tozier
Comments: 4
Kudos: 83
Collections: IT Fandom Secret Santa 2019





	one day (one day)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vaughnicus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaughnicus/gifts).



> This is late, oh so very late. I mean... on brand for Richie and Eddie, not on brand for me.
> 
> ANYWHO.
> 
> This is written for the lovely @jehansmuse for the [IT Fandom Secret Santa 2019](https://itfandomprompts.tumblr.com) hosted on Tumblr. I planned to post in earlier but :) u know :) life :) happens :)  
> I had an amazing time writing this fic. Thank you for the lovely prompts, jehansmuse.
> 
> NOTE: rated T for canon-typical coarse language.
> 
> This fic is set post-Chapter 2. This complies with all canon events, except for character death. because. obviously.
> 
> Happy holidays!

The second Christmas after defeating Pennywise, things were  _ good.  _ For the first time in a long time, Richie was happy —  _ really, truly happy.  _ He was surrounded by people he loved, living a life that was truly his.

The events that led up to the seven of the Losers leaving Derry for a small town in the middle of fuck nowhere didn’t matter to him. At the time, all he cared about was the fact that he was going to live with his best friends in a place that didn’t reek of death and creepy clowns. He couldn’t return back to his old life — not when everything seemed so backwards.

It was strange, how he felt like a stranger in his life without the Losers. He always had that impression, even when he was missing his memories, that he was playing pretend for most of his life.  _ Now he knew why. _ His memories brought back pieces of himself that he long forgot. It was easy for life to lack reality when he couldn’t remember who he was while growing up.

Returning to that strange life was daunting and horrifying to him.

He didn’t know much — he’d openly admit that — but he knew he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t go back to performing, like nothing that happened in Derry mattered. He couldn’t pretend to be satisfied with his life, not when he knew he had friends out there that loved him, not when he remembered  _ him.  _ He couldn’t pretend that he was going to be okay if they all returned to their old lives, Derry being a whisper of the past to them.

He was glad the Losers felt similarly about the situation, seeing as they all came to the same conclusion as him. None of them could return to their old lives, not when they had each other, not when the future contained so many possibilities.

They all decided they’d stick together.

_ Even Eddie. _

His sweet Eds Spagheds. His thorn in his side. The annoying, fiery, love of his life.

_ Yes, even him. _

Leaving behind Richie’s old life was relatively simple. He cancelled his next tour, refunded money for upcoming shows, and fled Los Angeles. 

Eddie, on the other hand, had a more difficult time leaving. Divorces, apparently, were complicated. Even if Eddie claimed things were fine, that the divorce was going smoothly, Richie could see it in the way his shoulders tensed and his forehead creased and his voice dropped.

As for the others, they made their own arrangements over the following weeks. And, finally, they left Derry for something better.

It was hard to believe that was already over one year ago.

_ So much had changed within that year. _

It was the first year of his life that he was surrounded by people that he trusted without a sliver of doubt. It was the first time in his life that he felt like he could truly be himself.

Moving half-way across the country with the six people he loved most was the best decision he made in his life. He said this without a doubt in his mind. They were a family — the first one he had since he was a teenager, covered in sewage, and ranting about dead clowns.

_ Ah, yes. Good times. _

“Hey,” Eddie greeted, sliding up behind him. He bent over the back of the couch to wrap his arms around Richie’s chest and dig his chin into his shoulder. “You’re being uncharacteristically quiet. I thought you’d be ranting about the ugly stockings or some shit by now.”

Richie sighed in content and pressed a lingering kiss to Eddie’s cheek.

_ Out of all the things that changed in the last year, this was the best. _

“Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Eds,” he said. Eddie rolled his eyes at the nickname, but didn’t comment. “I’m not going to comment on your  _ beautiful  _ stockings hanging over the burning fireplace. Because  _ that’s  _ safe.” He narrowed his eyes. “Fuck. I’m starting to sound like you.”

Eddie pulled back. “Wait, what?”

“Yeah, you know how dog owners start to look like their dog after a while? That’s us, except it’s me spewing shit about safety and risk analysis. And you making shittier jokes than I do.”

“First of all, my jokes are  _ not  _ shitty. Secondly, you’re absolutely right.” He straightened and raised his voice. “Bill, we’re moving the stockings! God forbid we  _ not  _ burn down the house on Christmas Eve.”

Richie watched in amusement as Eddie practically  _ sprinted  _ across the living room to rearrange the stockings.

_ Fuck, he’d gotten so lucky. _

There were a few weeks there — back in July last year — that he wasn’t sure what was going to happen. Eddie was in the hospital, still unconscious, and the future looked darker than the dried blood splattered across both of their clothing. Doctors came and went, all telling him the odds of the worst thing imaginable.

_ He might not wake up,  _ they told him. Others said,  _ have hope.  _ Others said,  _ say your goodbyes. _

Those weeks were filled with horrible nights, even worse hospital chairs, the scent of antiseptic, and the feeling of a cold, clammy hand in his own.

_ “I love you,”  _ Richie breathed more than once, the feelings in his chest undeniable.  _ “I love you, I love you, I love you.” _

Those words echoed around his soul, never quite leaving him. 

_ He loved him and he might never know.  _ It was a hard fact to face. All those years that he spent running, all that time he spent pining — he regretted it. He regretted not telling him, consequences be damned.  _ Because, fuck, Eddie Kaspbrak deserved to know that he was loved. _

Those weeks that they spent in a horrible limbo between life and death — between hope for a future and grieving their shared future —  _ changed  _ Richie. It made him realize that hesitation and hiding  _ sucked  _ — it sucked almost more than a child-eating clown. It made him realize that if he felt something, he was going to tell them.

_ Don’t wait, because no future is ever guaranteed. _

So, when Eddie woke several days later, Richie told him.  _ “I love you.”  _ And, when Eddie managed to utter those same words, things seemed to click into place.

Even though he hated hospitals after spending so much time in them, he was so fucking thankful for those doctors that managed to save Eddie’s life.

Those few weeks that Richie spent unsure of the future, he promised himself that he wasn’t going to  _ ever  _ wait for a ‘tomorrow’ again.  _ Lord only knew how close he was to losing the ‘tomorrow’ with Eddie. _

It only took a few months for their lives to find a new normal. Eddie lived. Looming death made them confront and confess their feelings towards each other. The Losers moved to fuck nowhere. And — yeah — things were great.

Richie toured Canada — their new home — once before, but that was during spring, where the snow was melted and the flowers were sprouting. Canada in autumn was different — it was sharper, it was colder, it was darker.  _ That was when he knew they were fucked. _

And winter?

_ Fucking hell. _

Richie was never the best poet — he left that job to Ben and Bill — but even  _ they _ severely lacked the correct words to describe how cold winter got. It was window-breaking, nose-running, finger-numbing, car-killing cold.

(He didn’t even fucking know cars could die from being so cold. That was a fact he would've been okay surviving life without knowing.)

Oh, also, fun fact. If he brought his phone with him while he walked to the store, it would shut down and give the message, “phone needs to cool down before using it again.”

Like. Fuck. It was so cold that not even fucking Apple knew what to say about it. “Cool down?” Bitch, it’s minus forty degrees Celsius outside.

Still, he wouldn’t trade  _ anything  _ for this, even if he thought his whole body froze solid a few times. He’d happily live in a place that killed car and phone batteries, as long as he was with his family.

_ Eddie. Stan. Patty. Bill. Audra. Ben. Bev. Anna. Mike. _

Considering he went from having no close friends or family just two years ago to  _ this?  _ Richie considered himself richer than he was when he was a rising comedian.

_ He was fucking lucky. _

It was moments like these — moments that he spent watching the love of his life hastily rearranging stockings — that he realized just how lucky he truly was.

“I love you,” Richie said. Those same words that echoed in his soul as he sat beside the hospital bed  _ still  _ resonated within him. 

He doubted there would ever be a time where he  _ wouldn’t  _ love Eddie. Even when Eddie made him want to pull his hair out, or when they argued (which was bound to happen because, after all, they  _ were  _ Richie and Eddie), or  _ whatever  _ — he loved him through it all.

Eddie’s expression softened when he turned back around, a stocking filled with holes clutched in his hand. Richie studied the way his eyes crinkled, and the way his lips twitched, and the way his forehead creased when he smiled.

_ Yes. He loved him very much. _

“You’re just saying that because you know I hate your ratty stocking,” Eddie teased, lifting the piece of fabric higher. 

Playing along, Richie lifted his nose in distaste. “It’s  _ unique,  _ my dear, which says a lot more than your stocking.” 

This was a running joke between the Losers for the last two years. Eddie’s stocking was prestine and beautiful (“and did you fucking iron it, Eds?!”), while Richie’s was literally an old brown sock.

(“It’s a perfect reflection of your personality,” Stan told Richie dryly.)

(Well. He wasn’t wrong.)

“Fuck off,” Eddie said, a laugh bubbling up and out of him. He hung up Richie’s shitty stocking beside his mint-condition one, joining the eight others on the wall. “We still need to go shopping for Anna’s gift, by the way.”

“Isn’t Christmas in like… three days?”

“Unfortunately.”

“So, shouldn’t you have already figured out gifts?” Eddie smacked Richie with a stocking.

_ “I fucking have been,”  _ Eddie snapped. “I’ve been actively shopping, thank you very much. Oh, by the way,  _ thanks for your help with that.”  _

“We both know you’re better at giving gifts than I am. We don’t want a repeat of Mike’s birthday, do we?”

No. Nobody wanted that. Not Richie, who thrives on chaos, and definitely not Eddie.

“Whatever.” Eddie finished rearranging the stockings and faced Richie. “I don’t know what to buy toddlers. What do toddlers do?”

“How should I know?”

“You act like a child, so I just assumed you’d know.” 

Richie loved the way Eddie’s eyes danced with mischief. It was cheesy, but he wore the  _ most endearing  _ expression whenever he made a joke. The only expression that rivaled this one was the one filled with fire.

Fuck, he loved him when he was teasing, and he loved him when he was angry, and he loved him when he was miserable, and happy, and—

_ He loved him. _

Richie had absolutely no ideas, but still spoke. “Let’s go to the toy store and get the largest item with the most colours on it, I don’t know.”

“Anna likes those giant LEGO things, right? Why don’t we just buy her a shit ton of that.”

“Because every time I step on a piece of it, I contemplate burning the house down.” Richie snorted and gestured to the stockings. “Maybe I’ll do it via fireplace and Christmas decorations.”

“You’re not funny, dick,” Eddie snapped.

Ah, yes, he sure took his safety seriously. It was probably a good thing. The Losers were all disasters in their own way and, without Eddie, they probably would’ve been face down in a ditch by now.

“You’re right.” Richie stoke a quick kiss from Eddie. “I’m  _ hilarious. _ Come on, Eds, doesn’t impaling your foot on a cheap plastic block make you wanna say ‘fuck safety?’”

“Too soon,” he said, feigning seriousness. “Too soon for the impaling jokes, man.”

Richie cringed.

_ It would always be too soon for impaling jokes. _

“Besides, I never want to fuck safety.” Eddie’s lips curled up and it made Richie’s heart skip a beat. “That’s reserved for you.”

“Oh.” Eddie stepped closer to him and his mouth ran dry. His heart skipped a couple of beats because  _ damn. “Oh.” _

They melted into each other’s embrace. Richie doubted he’d ever grow tired of kissing Eddie. There was something so soft — something so intimate — something so  _ breathtaking  _ about being joined like this with the man he loved. It was tender and sweet and  _ so fucking special.  _

When they pulled back, there was a warmth in Richie’s heart that wasn’t there moments before. Eddie Kaspbrak was an annoying little shit but, somehow, he turned Richie into a blubbering pile of goo.

“LEGO is out though,” Eddie agreed as soon as their kiss ended. “You didn’t hear it from me, but… yeah. Burn that shit with fire.”

“Ben and Anna are going to be  _ very  _ disappointed with you,” Richie teased, knowing how much the architect and his daughter enjoyed those deadly plastic blocks. He paused. “Jesus. Isn’t it weird how alike those two are? They really take the whole ‘father like daughter’ thing a tad too far.”

Eddie let out a breathless laugh and dug his face against Richie’s neck. He hummed with contentment and returned the embrace.

_ This was nice. _

_ Lucky. I’m so fucking lucky. _

Richie let his eyes slide closed as bliss washed over him. He never would’ve guessed this was where his life was leading — to being in love with his childhood best friend, surrounded by his closest friends, and watching a girl he considered a niece grow up.

“Have you ever thought about it?” Eddie mumbled against his neck, breaking the easy silence that shrouded them.

“Hm?”

A beat of silence passed and Eddie tensed up against him. Richie’s eyes opened and his heart skipped a beat. He knew the other man well enough to know  _ he was nervous about something.  _ And that made  _ him  _ nervous. 

“It’s just… the toddler talk got me thinking.” Eddie didn’t pull away from the embrace, but he wasn’t melted into it like he was before. He cleared his throat. “Do… What do you see for our future?”

_ Oh. _

Richie was the one to pull out of the hug — not because he was panicked or scared, but because he desperately needed to see Eddie’s expression in that moment. He needed to see all the details in his expression for this conversation.

“Like… kids? You’re asking about kids?”

Richie studied his expression closely. His heart beat wildly against his chest.

“Yeah.” Eddie bit his lip and shuffled his feet — a habit of his when he got nervous. “I mean, we live with one right now, and that’s pretty good practice. I love Anna. You’re really good with her. We just… we never talked about  _ us  _ having one.”

_ Them.  _

_ A kid.  _

_ A future. _

_ Holy fuck. _

Richie was instantly stuck with so much love — so much hope — so much excitement for the future with the man beside him. A future that he hadn’t spent much time imagining before was suddenly so clear and tangible, he could almost grasp it with his hands.

He could see Eddie holding a baby, a look of pure awe on his face. He could see all the milestones that Ben and Bev went through with Anna; watching a first smile, hearing first words, encouraging first steps. 

_ And he wanted it. _

He wanted that future with Eddie; raising kids, sharing lives, growing old together.

“Rich?” he prompted, his eyes locked with his. Richie could see all the hope and all the worry contained within them. Eddie was good at many things; hiding his emotions from him not being one of them. “What— What’s going on? I know we haven’t really talked about it, and it’s a stressful time of year, and we joke about burning houses down because of fucking LEGO blocks, but—”

“Yes,” Richie said quickly, his answer void of all doubts. Eddie’s mouth fell shut and eyes widened at the confidence behind his words. “I want that.  _ Really.  _ I do.  _ Fuck, Eds,  _ I want that with you.”

Eddie floundered for a second, unable to find the right words. Finally, he spoke. “Really?”

“We’d be  _ such  _ kick ass parents, are you kidding?” Richie knew this was not a time for teasing and banter. His voice turned serious. His grip tightened on Eddie. “You’d be such a good dad, Eds. I—” Damn, he was about to get deep for a second. “You have so much love in your heart and so much care in your soul;  _ of course  _ you’d make a good dad. The way you are with Anna — I mean —  _ fuck.  _ You’re so good with her. And, not gonna lie, thinking about it is making me emotional.”

Richie struggled to keep the tears at bay. He wanted to see every movement of Eddie’s expression without it being blurred by tears.  _ This was a moment he wanted to savor. _

“We  _ would  _ be kick ass parents, wouldn’t we?” Eddie grinned wider. “I mean, shit, look at us! We’ve got practice with Anna. And you’re basically a toddler at heart.”

“The saying is  _ kid  _ at heart.”

“No, you’re a toddler, Richie. You don’t just play around and shit. You put garbage in your mouth. You literally pick up whatever you find on the ground and chew on it.”

Richie laughed. He loved this fiery banter more than he’d ever let on. “Fuck off, no I don’t.”

_ “Just yesterday, you ate a fucking piece of Eggo off the ground from under the table! We haven’t had Eggos since last week!”  _ Richie fell in love with him a tiny bit more in that moment; the exasperation, the energy, the fire.  _ Yes. That was his man. _ “That’s fucking disgusting, by the way.”

“Come on,” he teased, “you love me.”

Eddie’s expression softened and his hand came up to cup the side of his cheek. Richie’s chest clenched painfully from the amount of affection coursing through him.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I do.”

Their lips met for another kiss, this one slower and deeper than the one moments before. Few things took Richie’s breath away; killer clowns, running the beep test, and kissing Eddie Kaspbrak all being some of them.

They broke apart when little Anna came running into the room, her voice a shrill squeal of delight. Richie immediately scooped her into his arms and balanced her on his hip, a different type of love filling his heart.

_ “‘Ichy,”  _ she cooed, her hand coming up to grab his nose. Her laughter shook her whole body and it was impossible not to smile so wide that his cheeks hurt.

“Hello, Miss Anna,” he said, swinging her around a bit. She went into another fit of giggles. Richie beamed at Eddie. Their eyes met in a tender gaze and understanding passed through them.  _ They wanted this. _ “One day,” he told him.

“One day.”

It was a promise — a promise of a growing family, a promise of a brighter future, a promise of a life together.

_ Yeah.  _

_ Richie was really fucking lucky. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Usually I write heavier and deeper things, so this nice holiday fluff was a nice change. Comments and kudos are appreciated!!
> 
> [Find me on Tumblr!](https://pawprinterfanfic.tumblr.com)  
> 


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